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By CHAT News Today

Phillips: 'Not just a couple of bad apples'

NDP wants out-of-province investigation into Phillips surveillance

Jul 14, 2020 | 9:31 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Alberta’s NDP is calling for an out-of-province investigation into the unauthorized surveillance by police of Lethbridge-West MLA Shannon Phillips.

On Monday, CHAT News reported that two Lethbridge police officers have been demoted over the surveillance of Phillips and people she met with over a controversial government decision.

The surveillance was launched after a new provincial park was announced in the Castle region by the NDP government in January 2017. The changes included restricting unregulated off-road vehicle use of the environmentally-sensitive area. The move sparked a firestorm among those in the off-road vehicle community.

Sgt. Jason Carrier and Const. Keon Woronuk admitted to using their positions for personal and political reasons in connection with increasing protections in the Castle region in southwest Alberta. They have both been temporarily demoted following a disciplinary hearing decision issued on July 9, 2020 and obtained by CHAT News.

In an interview with CHAT Tuesday, Phillips says while she has a good relationship with Lethbridge police leadership, there are issues within the rank and file.

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“And it’s not just a couple of bad apples,” said Phillips, adding that addressing the issue will be a difficult one for Lethbridge Police Chief Scott Woods and senior staff. “I have a tremendous sense of unease because I know that there is an influential element within the rank and file that do not uphold their sacred duty to the public trust and to the honour of being a police officer and all of the responsibility that entails.”

Phillips said the disciplinary hearing decision is part and parcel of the problem as it included no shortage of factual errors.

Namely, that she wasn’t meeting with stakeholders connected with the Castle, which was accepted as fact by the disciplinary hearing’s presiding officer Paul Manuel.

It wasn’t, according to Phillips, who said the meeting was with friends and individuals with interests in the reintroduction of bison into Banff National Park.

Police Chief Woods issued a statement on Tuesday morning.

In it, he says “The actions for which these officers – Sgt. Jason Carrier and Cst. Keon Woronuk – were disciplined cannot be excused. The fact that they admitted to the charges of misconduct indicates that they acknowledge this reality. But acknowledging the wrong-doing does not take away the embarrassment and shame that has been brought upon the LPS by their actions, nor does it mitigate the justified anger and profound disappointment of Ms. Phillips and others in our community who have a right to expect so much better from their Police Service.”

He goes on to say that everyone in the Lethbridge Police Service will bear the consequences and that it falls to them to regain the trust of the community that has been lost as a result of their actions.

“Our challenge, as police officers, is to carry on, striving to demonstrate the principled, bias-free policing that our Service should represent and that our community expects and deserves.”

Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer announced in a Twitter thread on Monday that Alberta’s police watchdog has been ordered “to conduct a comprehensive review of the professional standards investigation to determine if there are grounds for a criminal investigation.”